Ultrasound imaging techniques have been employed for some time by physicians in examining the condition of the body's internal organs without physical intrusion into the body cavity. In applying such techniques, high frequency ultrasonic sound is transmitted into the body usually through an ultrasonic transducer moved about the surface of the body. Some of this sound is reflected by internal organs with the intensity and spatial characteristics of the reflected sound corresponding to the arrangement and physical condition of the reflecting organs. The transducer receives the reflected sound and converts it to corresponding electrical pulses that are transmitted to an electronic analyzer. The information embodied in the pulses is electronically interpreted by the analyzer and displayed on a video monitor as outlined images of the internal organs for review by attending physicians.
Medical personnel, especially those working in the field of emergency medicine, are often required to perform ultrasounds on patients in order to diagnose common abnormalities and diseases that are found in body organs, major arteries, and major veins that are generally focused on in the emergency room setting. These organs generally include the lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, gall bladder, urinary bladder, and spleen.
Unfortunately, clinical training of medical personnel in ultrasound techniques and analysis has been severely limited because such training has usually been restricted to experience gained through ultrasonic examination of actual living patients. Naturally, one cannot choose the number and frequency of such patients or the types and degrees of their respective maladies. Consequently, training through actual experience has proven to be sporadic at best and generally limited to the most commonly encountered maladies.
In some instances, ultrasound “phantoms” are used in the testing of common ultrasound equipment. These “phantoms” are generally large blocks of a silicone or latex material and are used to test dummy or simulated ultrasound equipment for accuracy due to their similarity to the structure of actual human skin tissue. However, these “phantoms” fall far short of providing a realistic and reliable training aid for medical personal seeking to gain experience on ultrasound equipment used in the field.
What is needed is a realistic device for training medical personnel, especially those in the field of emergency medicine, in the use of ultrasound equipment and in the interpretation and analysis of resulting ultrasonic images.
Thus, an ultrasound training mannequin solving the aforementioned problems is desired.